1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to packs for pourable products, and more particularly to such packs that consist of an inner container surrounded by a separable supporting jacket.
2. Discussion of Related Art
This invention relates to a pack for pourable products, such as liquids or free-flowing fine granules or the like, which consists of an inner thin-walled blown plastic container, preferably of substantially rectangular cross-section, intended to hold the product and of a base- and cover-free supporting jacket--preferably with an upper supporting edge--surrounding the blown plastic container and bearing against it in the in-use position of the pack, the blown plastic container preferably being provided with an upper bearing shoulder for resting on the supporting edge of the supporting jacket and comprising at least one recess at a distance from its base and shoulder. The supporting jacket is provided with at least one lap designed to fold over inwards into the recess as a fixing element for the supporting jacket.
One such pack is known from applicants' DE-A-39 21 258. In this known pack, the blown plastic container, which has very thin walls by comparison with conventional plastic bottles, can be made by blow moulding from a blow-mouldable plastic so that the plastic content of the pack can be kept very small. Strength and stability are provided by the supporting jacket while the connection between the supporting jacket and the blown plastic container is established by an upper supporting edge of the jacket, on which the bearing shoulder of the blown plastic container rests, and by a lap designed to fold into the recess.
This known pack is evironmentally friendly by virtue of its small plastic and cardboard contents and can be separately disposed of by the user after use by virtue of its relatively simple two-piece construction (blown plastic container and supporting jacket). In particular, the supporting jacket can be recycled as wastepaper. However, this known pack has the disadvantage that its two parts, namely the blown plastic container and the supporting jacket, are still not satisfactorily fixed, particularly when the pack is full and thus heavy. The laps are foldably connected to the supporting jacket on one side only and have a score line extending longitudinally of the supporting jacket. This gives rise to the danger, particularly in known packs without any detent elements to hold the laps, that the laps spring back because of the resilience of their constituent material so that, when the pack is picked up, the blown plastic container slides out from the supporting jacket. In addition, the design of the handles is not optimal.
DE-A-93 28 99 describes a base- and cover-free cardboard jacket of rectangular cross-section as a pack for electric light bulbs. At each corner, this jacket comprises two laps folded inwards. The laps are arranged in such a way that they bear on top and underneath against the glass of an electric light bulb accommodated in the pack. This known jacket does not cooperate with another part of the pack on which it is to be held.